A summer of film festivals

There are plenty of local film festivals this summer to view movies before they open in theaters.

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By Dana BarbutoThe Patriot Ledger

Wicked Local

By Dana BarbutoThe Patriot Ledger

Posted Jun. 14, 2014 at 11:00 AM

By Dana BarbutoThe Patriot Ledger

Posted Jun. 14, 2014 at 11:00 AM

» Social News

Who needs Cannes, Toronto or Sundance? There are plenty of local film festivals this summer to view movies before they open in theaters. You also might even catch up with a film classic or star gaze at celebrities letting their hair down out of the Hollywood spotlight.

And where else will you get the opportunity to question actors, directors and writers, or attend parties and other special events? Plus, when you walk out of a screening, you’re on lively Commercial Street in Provincetown (a show in itself) or Water Street in Woods Hole. Ditto on the Vineyard or Nantucket.

Here’s a look at what’s on deck:

Party in P-Town

The 16th annual Provincetown International Film Festival (ptownfilmfest.org) runs Wednesday through Sunday, June 22. Director David Cronenberg (“A History of Violence”) will be honored as this year’s Filmmaker on the Edge. Honors also will be presented to Patricia Clarkson and Debra Winger.

Clarkson (“Far from Heaven,” “Pieces of April”) will receive the Excellence in Acting Award following Wednesday night’s screening of her new film, “Last Weekend.” Winger (“Terms of Endearment, “An Officer and a Gentleman”) will receive the Faith Hubley Career Achievement Award on Saturday, June 21, during the Conversations with Honorees ceremony at Provincetown’s town hall.

“We are delighted to honor Patricia Clarkson and Debra Winger,” said Connie White, PIFF’s artistic director. “It is perfect timing to honor Patti, as we can celebrate her remarkable talent and also spotlight her beautiful performance in ‘Last Weekend.’

“In choosing Debra, we get to highlight one of our favorite actresses and a career shaped by thoughtful and intelligent artistic choices, a hallmark of the annual Faith Hubley tribute.”

The festival also will present a restored, 50th-anniversary version of the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night,” and Milton native Jenny Slate’s new comedy, “Obvious Child.” The latter will screen June 19 and 21.

The festival will close with the North American premiere of Jonathan Demme’s “A Master Builder.” The Friday Spotlight will be Sheila Canavan and Michael Chandler’s “Compared to What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank.” And the Saturday Spotlight will be “Love Is Strange,” directed by Ira Sachs.

New England filmmakers of color will showcase their films and documentaries at the 16th annual Roxbury International Film Festival (roxburyinternationalfilmfestival.org), June 25-29. Leading off is “The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne,” a documentary about the notorious jewel thief.

Page 2 of 3 - Another notable showing is “Anita,” from Oscar-winning director Freida Mock (“Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision”). The film looks back at Anita Hill’s grilling during a Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991. Her testimony turned into an inquisition in which Hill, now a professor at Brandeis in Waltham, was vilified for exposing workplace sexual harassment to the world.

Film screenings, workshops and panel discussions take place at the Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts College of Art, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, the Roxbury Center for the Arts at Hibernian Hall, and the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

Celebrating screenwriters

Writers take center stage at the Nantucket Film Festival (nantucketfilmfestival.org), June 25 to 30. More than 40 films will be screened, starting opening night with the Sundance smash “The Skeleton Twins,” starring Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader in a dark comedy about estranged siblings. The festival will close with Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood,” in which he filmed the same actors, once a year, for 12 years, to capture the life of a boy from age 6 to 18.

“The filmmakers of this year’s lineup impress with fresh and modern takes to share their vision with audiences,” said Basil Tsiokos, film program director.

Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network”) will receive the Screenwriters Tribute Award, which was given to David O. Russell last year. Actor Bradley Whitford from Sorkin’s acclaimed TV drama, “The West Wing,” will be the presenter.

Mike Cahill, who wrote and directed the sci-fi stunner “Another Earth,” will receive the New Voices in Screenwriting Award. Cahill’s latest film, “I Origins,” is a fusion of science, romance and mystery starring Michael Pitt and Brit Marling. It will be the festival’s centerpiece.

“(Cahill) is quickly becoming one of the most compelling young screenwriters today,” said Executive Director Mystelle Brabbée.

This year’s Spotlight Films include: “Love Is Strange,” about the consequences of New York partners Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) finally being able to tie the knot; “Begin Again,” a musical from “Once” director John Carney starring Keira Knightly, Adam Levine and Mark Ruffalo; “The One I Love,” about a married couple (Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss) visiting a marriage counselor (Ted Danson); and “Last Days in Vietnam,” Rory Kennedy’s documentary about the U.S. withdrawal from the war.

Also spotlighted will be “Life Itself,” the latest work by Steve James, the documentarian whose credits include “Hoop Dreams” and “The Interrupters.” He will receive the Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling.

Braintree native Beth Harrington’s documentary, “The Winding Stream,” will open the 23rd annual Woods Hole Film Festival (woodsholefilmfestival.org), July 26-Aug. 2. Harrington, a former member of the band the Modern Lovers, chronicles the Carters and the Cashes, America’s country music royalty, as well as the efforts of present-day offspring to keep the legacy alive. It includes footage of Johnny Cash, George Jones, Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and more. Harrington also shot one of the last interviews with Johnny Cash, which is included in the film.

Another festival highlight is “Opus 139: To Hear the Music,” about the design and construction of a pipe organ in Harvard University’s Memorial Church. Directed by Endicott College professor Dennis Lanson and featuring cinematography by Emmy winner Austin deBesche (John Sayles’ “Return of the Secaucus Seven”), the film features Charles Brenton Fisk, the founder of the C.B. Fisk Co., the 100-year-old Gloucester-based pipe-organ company that takes on the project.

The festival, named one of the 25 coolest film festivals in the world by MovieMaker Magazine, is known for highlighting films about music and for featuring high-quality live music events. For eight days, independent filmmakers and film enthusiasts will gather to screen more than 70 feature and short, independent films, many with ties to New England and the Cape. It includes daily screenings, workshops, panel discussions, special events, coffee with filmmakers, parties and more.

“We’ve stayed true to the vision of supporting emerging independent filmmakers,” said Judy Laster, the festival’s founder and executive director.

Also screening are the Cape Cod-shot thriller “Lies I Told My Little Sister” from Massachusetts filmmaker John Stimpson, and the East Coast premiere of Boston-based director Douglas Gordon’s “The God Question,” a sci-fi thriller set in the not-too-distant future at UMass-Amherst and MIT.

A full schedule of events and screenings is forthcoming. Tickets go on sale online June 29.

A pair on the Vineyard

Martha’s Vineyard will play host to two fests: the African-American Film Festival (mvaaff.com), Aug. 5-9, and the Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival (mvfilmsociety.com), Sept. 4-7. The schedule of screenings and events has yet to be announced.